Interview: Matthew Lillard & Rachael Leigh Cook on Returning for He’s All That

Netflix’s romantic comedy He’s All That releases on the streamer on August 27, 2021. The film stars Addison Rae, Tanner Buchanan, Madison Pettis, Peyton Meyer, Isabella Crovetti, Myra Molloy, and Annie Jacob. Both Matthew Lillard and Rachael Leigh Cook return from She’s All That, which the film is based on, although in different roles.

“In this reimagining of 1999’s She’s All That, teen social media influencer Padgett’s humiliating on-camera breakup goes viral, leading her to make a risky bet to save her reputation: She swears she can turn scruffy antisocial Cameron into prom king material,” says the official logline. “But things get complicated when she finds herself falling for him IRL.”

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with She’s All That stars Matthew Lillard and Rachael Leigh Cook about the romantic comedy’s themes, why they returned for He’s All That, and more.

Tyler Treese: Rachael, it’s so exciting for you to return to this series. I imagine it’s a real full-circle moment for you. Was there ever any hesitation to get on board?

Rachael Leigh Cook: Yes, Tyler you’re absolutely right, and you said it perfectly, this has been such a funny full-circle moment. Yeah. I did feel a degree of hesitation. I thought this is a great movie the way it is. They don’t need a nod to the older version. Let’s just let them have at it. But ultimately I’m so glad that I took part and I’m also so glad that Matt was there and I wasn’t the only one because I really just think it feels good to be of support rather than to just be asked long after the movie has come out for years and years to come like, “Hey, what’d you think of the remake of your movie?” It’s like, no, I was there. Clearly. I’m in support of this, and I already feel so loving toward everyone involved and I feel really happy for them because I think people are going to love this movie.

Matthew, you have such a fun role as the principal and your, your dance sequence is a real highlight. How fun was that? The film?

Matthew Lillard: It was fun. It was also painful. Tyler I’m very old and rickety around the joint area. So it was painful. There was a lot and a lot of takes. I was happy with the first take. Why couldn’t we just [go] with the first take, but by take nine I was very sweaty. I got very sweaty.

Cook: Well, you just kept coming up with great stuff. So of course they’re going to keep rolling.

Lillard: But the funny thing is that we were doing it in front of those dancers. I mean, the dancers in He’s All That are incredible. They have a whole sequence where the cast jumps in and that whole dance sequence. Yeah.

Rachael, I love how the reboot stays true to the spirit of the original, but it updates it with some really important themes regarding social media. How impressed were you with the writers and how they updated this story?

Cook: I was really impressed with the timely update. All I can say is that they did a great job with it and as a mom of two young kids, I think it’s important to talk about all the perils and pitfalls of social media.

Matthew, where do you think Brock Hudson [your character in She’s All That] would be in 2021?

Lillard: Probably in a junket for the remake of… What’s that TV show?

Cook: The Real World.

Lillard: He’d probably be a politician is what he’d probably be. Brock Hudson would be a politician right now, eating his own burgers in the Senate.

Rachael, the original film is so stacked with talent and there’s so many impressive young talent on this one. What bright futures do you see for this cast?

Cook: Oh my gosh. I told the cast a million times over and I’ll say it again. I just hope that this movie provides them with as many incredible opportunities as our version did for me. I’m grateful to this day for our movie.

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